St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-01-13
Another Terrible Accident.


A west-bOund express train on the
Baltimore and Ohio railroad, half an
hour behind time and dashing along at
the rate of 60 miles an hour, crashed
into an east-bound freight train near
Tiffin, O., on the same day and at
about the same time as the above ac-
cident. A terrible disaster was the
result, and of the Is passengers on the
train some were killed and many more
were wounded. The trains came to-
gether with terrific crash, and both
engines were utterly wrecked. The
baggage and smoking cars telescOped
completely, one going clear through
the other. The wreck Immediately
caught fire, and all the passengers in
the smoker were either killed by fly
ing timbers or burned. Several more
persons missing are supposed to have
persisted. The accident was apparent
ly caused by the carelessness of the
freight hands. They were running
their train on the time belonging to
the express. No danger signals had
been thrown out and the passenger en-
gineer, as his train swept around a
curve, did not see the freight until
within 100 yards of it.
Later accounts of the disaster make
it out that the freight train was at Il
stand-still when the express plunged
into it. Conductor Fletcher had side
tracked at ScipiO to let an east bound
passenger train pass him and then
moved out with the intention of switch
ing off at Republic, only five miles dis
tant. He had half an hour to do this
in before the west bound express was
due. The night was bitter cold and
the engineer had hard work to get up
steam. Finally when within half a
mile of Republic the train came to u
stand-still unable to proceed further.
The conductor then started forward
with Il lantern, but had not proceeded
more than the length of 20 cars when
he saw the headlight OF the approach
ing express rounding the curve not
more than 40 rods distant, and run
ming at the lightning speed of 60 miles
an hour. Horror stricken, he flashed
his light in the face of the engineer,
Lem Eastman. The latter at the same
moment saw the light of the freight
engine, and, giving wild shrek of
the whistle for brakes, he reversed his
engine, and jumped for his life, crash
ing through the window of the cab,
alighted in heavy snow drift, little
hurt. AS he realized the danger, he
called to his fireman, William Fred
ricks, to save himself. The latter was
engaged in stocking the fire and hest
tated. At that instant the crash came,
and poor Fredricks was pinned and
crushed by the mass of the wreck. The
effect of the collision can be better
imagined than described.
The engines of the two trains reared
into the air like pair of enraged liv-
ing monsters and then settled down
upon the track driven into each other
until the cylinders touched. The force
of the impact jammed the baggage cars
into the tender of the last train, the ex-
press car into the baggage and the
smoker into the express. In less than
five minutes from the moment of the
collision, and before any organized eff
fort at rescue could be made, the fire
of the overturned stoves communicat-
ed to the woodwork, and the flames
leaped high in the air, their roar min
Cling with the cries of anguish of the
imprisoned victims.